According to the Redwood City, California-based market research firm, Dell’Oro Group, the Ethernet switch market will grow steadily over the next five years; revenues are expected to reach $19 billion by the year 2011.

The five-year forecast report cites two factors that will contribute to the market’s continuing growth. On one hand, an upgrade cycle that began three years ago has many more years to run its course. In 2004, a major desktop upgrade to power-over-Ethernet and gigabit Ethernet occurred, each of which now make up less than 20 percent of the desktop-installed base. Therefore, according to Seamus Crehan, senior director of Ethernet switch research for Dell’Oro Group, “This upgrade cycle won’t reach maturity for some time.”

The other factor is the advent of new technologies, including 10G Base-LRM and 10G Base-T, both of which will help drive widespread 10 gigabit Ethernet adoption. EC